Anonymous asked: "true love is when something egregious and without comment happens and you look at your s/o like they’re the office camera and they’re already looking at you like you’re the office camera" THOUGHT YOU COULD RELATE MAYBE
LOL omg this is the best thing I never knew I needed
I would say that if you mentioned “Queens” to the people here in Singapore, maybe 1 in 10 would think of the borough in New York City within the first 10 seconds. I don’t say that from a place of condescension – there’s absolutely no reason for us here across the globe to be familiar with such a thing, and if I weren’t inundated with American media since young I wouldn’t either.
But when they cut to the establishing shot of the apartment building and flashed the word “QUEENS” in Civil War…the entire theatre-ful of people gasped almost simultaneously: “Spider-Man!”
I just wanted to relate that little experience I had because it perfectly encapsulates how Civil War is not the success of a lone movie – it’s the success of 13. Marvel has absolutely owned the blockbuster genre. Singaporean culture is not exactly huge on movies, but this was a movie where every person in the theatre, from schoolkids to senior citizens, was there because they planned to see it. They didn’t come in on impulse after ambling through a mall. They didn’t say “let’s watch a movie” and then decide to watch Civil War. Everyone came specifically for this, everyone had watched the trailers (the giggles of nervous excitement spreading everytime one of the cool trailer moments was going to come up is proof of this), everyone knew what they were getting into (not a single person bothered getting up once the credits started rolling!). Marvel is proof that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; that with the right vision behind them, 13 movies ranging from average to amazing can collectively create a transcendent experience and completely permeate the popular consciousness.
Anonymous asked: Hey! I've been reading your posts and you seem like a really cool and humble guy. I just thought you should know that your writing is amazing and I hope this encourages you to write more :) You could even make a career out of it too! You're gifted at it for sure. Have a great day!
This is so nice!! I wish you could see the stupidest smile on my face now. Thank you kind human!
Anonymous asked: Hello! I just watched civil war and walked out feeling like i expected lots more from the film. ): Would love to hear your take on it i remember reading about you being tons excited about it!!
ok im not sure if this is just a really articulate bot cos I have like 4 followers and 0 presence on this site, but I’m going to answer this anyway.
(and if this is you derek and you’re just asking me anon because you didn’t want to burst my bubble about Civil War, don’t worry HAHA I wouldn’t think any less of a person or a movie if said person isn’t a fan of said movie)
I loved Civil War. To me, what made it such a success was that it really sold you on why these characters were fighting, and why they wished they weren’t fighting. The motivations behind the characters were clear and compelling and grew organically not just from the film, but from the past 12 films as whole. You believe what they’re doing, and you believe that they believe what they’re doing.
You don’t want them to fight, and you know that they don’t want to be fighting each other either. The appeal of this movie’s conceit rests on how strongly we believe that this is a true schism within a true family, and the movie really conveyed that well. And this is important because it speaks to the pure emotion of the movie. The fights are “cool” and “funny”, but what makes them great is the emotion undergirding each of them. Caring for each side and understanding where each is coming from gives the fights depth because you’re genuinely invested in them. You feel each punch that landed, you feel each word uttered in rage and despair. It’s great writing, but also helped by great performances from RDJ and Chris Evans. The way Evan’s face is contorted in anguish everytime he hits Tony. The way RDJ’s voice quivers with frustration and desperation everytime he tries to talk to Cap.
As a more specific aside, one shot I really like too is when Tony is collapsed over Rhodey’s body, and Sam stumbles over and says I’m sorry (and how great is it that Sam immediately turned back mid-flight to try and save his attacker? speaks to what I was saying earlier - it’s a conflict within a family, which is what makes it resonate). Anyway, Tony says nothing, just lifts his hand and gives Sam a resigned blast which throws him to the other end of the frame. The way it was shot - quick, surprising - felt like a nice throwback to that familiar scene in The Avengers where Hulk side-punches Thor who flies out of the frame. Visually similar, but the context is so different. It reminds you how far these characters’ arcs have come. Civil War is The Avengers in a minor key.
So yeah - that’s roughly how I feel about the movie. Many more things I could talk about. The whole airport scene for example was immaculate in my eyes - the action was well-shot, understandable, and while the Avengers’ fight sequences were all about how these heroes’ skills synergise, Civil War’s were all about how they play off each other, which was really fun to watch. I also think they handled the introduction of Spider-Man and Black Panther as well as you possibly could in a film as packed as this. But it’s totally cool if someone else doesn’t feel the same way; art is different things to different people. And I’ll need a cooling-off period and a couple of repeat viewings to firm up my opinion on it. The thing about hype is this - when you walk into a movie expecting for months on end to love it, you either come out inevitably disappointed because nothing beats the anticipation, or you come out completely fulfilled because you’ve perceived the movie through a lover’s eyes. In the nature of things, I really can’t say for sure that my Civil War experience was not somehow coloured in a similar way.
But I guess that’s the point, isn’t it? Because while the objective merits of a film are obviously important, on a grander level (and yet also on a more personal level) the value of a film and its impact on our lives lie in the subjective imprint it leaves on our consciousness, shaped by our individual personalities and experiences. That movies can be different things to different people is not its flaw, but its raison d’etre.